New live photos of the BMW M2 in Long Beach Blue

Even before its official world premiere at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, the BMW M2 Coupe enjoys great popularity among employees of BMW M in Garching. This latest prototype was spotted outside the M HQ and it features the launch color Long Beach Blue.

Alpine White next to Long Beach Blue, Sapphire Black and Mineral Grey is one of only four colors in which the new BMW M2 can be ordered. When it comes to wheels, customers have even fewer choices – 19-inch light alloy wheels 437 M – unless you opt for the winter tires seen here.

BMW went through great lengths to lighten the chassis of the M2 by using aluminum everywhere it could. The control arms, wheel carriers, axle subframes and stiffening plate of the double- joint spring-strut front axle weigh five kilograms less than would be the case with a conventional steel construction. These improve kinematics to give the M2 fantastic precision and dynamics.

Compared to the M235i Coupe, the M2 is between 40 t0 50 kilograms lighter (approx. 100 lbs) – depending on the configuration. The weight, unladen to DIN/EU is 1495 kg/1570 kg (3296 lbs / 3461 lbs) for the manual transmission and 1520 kg /1595 kg (3351 lbs / 3515 lbs) for the 7-speed DCT. The US Curb Weight for the M2 is listed at 3,450 lbs for the manual model and 3,505 lbs for the DCT.